9VARZ's 2010 P55 Mini-ITX Workstation Build! "Genesis"

This thread will follow the progress of my only complete PC build for 2010 from concept to realization. Due to the way the project is funded (as well as other logistical issues to resolve in-between), this build is expected to be one of the slowest PC-workstation builds seen on any tech forums that does not involve a scratch-built case or custom water-cooling - spanning from early January 2010 (when the need for a high-spec PC was established) to its eventual deployment in September 2010.

Even so, I will be expecting constant updates to the system with a major overhaul sometime before Christmas of next year for at least the board and CPU just to keep it updated as well as to improve on the IO connectivity options which the components of today's technology currently lack.

So it's very likely this thread will stay continually updated from time to time up till the Christmas of 2011! Stay tuned if you're egged!

Preamble/Project Objectives

Some of you might have followed another thread in the hardware arena and realised that I have already had some ideas conceptualised on a Mini-ITX build sometime this year, on which the basis of this build will manifest itself upon.

To expand on that, a need was identified early this year in January that a high-end system would be required to enable me to carry out some engineering-based research at a personal level which will mainly see application in aeronautics - in particular, finite element analysis, multidisciplinary design optimisation and computational fluid dynamics. There will also be some development of openCL/CUDA-based flow codes which I intend to validate on the Fermi architecture when it eventually gets released.

A quick rehash on what has been identified so far as the compute requirements for this system:

CUDA programming and development of numerical models (solving of PDE).

Linux + Win 7 Professional (Dual/Triple-Boot + VM).

Small form factor.

N.B.: Some of the charting software as well as stock MATLAB are not designed to run natively in a multi-core, multi-threaded environment, although there are add-on APIs for that purpose. MATLAB also has a CUDA-based API which allows a limited degree of compute parallelisation using suitable Nvidia cards, although it remains to be seen/validated on the DP accuracy of those models.

Thus, it can be said that the compute requirements (in addition to it being used as a "normal" internet-access, word-processing terminal) for this system would be somewhere between the range of medium-high to very high (the latter especially for long validation runs of flow codes that are still unable to resolve in real-time).

Initial System Requirements, Budget

When this project first started, I set myself some very broad requirements which I later narrowed down to a few specifics that I wanted to have so as not to make too many compromises. It initially ran along the following lines:

Engineering Challenges + Possible Solutions/Workarounds

Designing a system around such parameters has a number of significant drawbacks.

Firstly, there is the issue of heat.

While I can safely say I would be utilising this system mainly in the colder months of the year (where the ambient temperatures in my room average around 18 to 25 degrees Celsius), heat is still definitely going to be one of the key issues in contention here, especially with the relative confines of the small form factor case we're dealing with here.

Secondly, power management foibles are always something one gets when dealing with mini-ITX based systems. You can't afford to have a high-octane processor under the hood, your choice of graphics has to remain within the constraints of the tiny SFX PSU, the efficiency of your design may not be up to par, etc., etc.

In fact, if it were up to me, I would just go ahead and generalise that all mini-ITX systems have their Achilles' heel in heat/thermal and power management. In most cases, massive compromises have to be made in order to ensure the smooth running of such a system. Case in point: The most stable mini-ITX systems thus far are embedded Atom builds which are used mainly in HTPC and router configurations. The mere mention of that processor family would already put off three-quarters of the enthusiast crowd for obvious reasons.

Thirdly, and perhaps no less important than the first two, this system still bases itself on technology which were available since Q4 of 2009 and have yet to adopt any emerging technology that are slowly becoming mainstream (SATA3 and USB3). The architecture and the cost of the components used has to be scalable enough to meet this future need (the bare minimum to be able to sell off parts of the components if need be). Even so, I'm running a very high risk of obsolescence of the technology onboard here.

Finally, any noise resonating in a small form factor rig becomes very amplified (which is why laptops can be perceptively louder than their desktop counterparts, even though the measured sounds may be the same or less). Any instance of NVH has to be counter-acted with an aggressive use of damping, which in turn further complicates heat issues.

Arguably, all of these problems can be solved relatively easily if a custom/desktop chassis is made/used to house a micro-ATX motherboard on the desktop or routing cables down to the floor to a full tower get-go. However, it is noteworthy that micro-ATX boards are relatively bulky span-wise (as I'm working within a 1200mm x 700mm envelope for my desk space, which I have to prioritise for other uses such as books and papers as well) and floor space is a massive premium for my application.

Thus, I intend to counter the heat and power issue by thinking vertically a bit and going with a slightly roomier case and rejecting the stock power supply. Instead, a new case was selected (first by visual guess-timation) that might allow the use of a full height cooler within the case. That would allow me the off-chance to use an early version of the venerable Thermalright 120 extreme (TRUE) (subject to fitting tolerances, again) that I have lying around at home which I've not even got it out from its packaging yet.

As for power, a highly efficient ATX power supply would be used in its place and its cables would be bundled and routed externally into the case via the rear mounting vent of the case. The issue of dust with that solution would mean that a positive pressure exhaust diffuser/port is required to be fitted in place of the PSU mount (as dust filters used for exhaust fans strongly resist the flow patterns and results in a substantial increase in noise).

With these measures in place, I hope the problems with heat and power would be significantly mitigated.

W01-INP55C "GENESIS" Mod 0.

With the above considerations in place, the present iteration of the hardware is as such. Do note that the specs chosen for this system have not been frozen as yet. I intend to constantly update this list until about late June or mid-July.

nice ! the casing looks awesome for a workstation cum miniserver . any idea where can i get it in SG ?

That's what I want to know also. The local prices here in the UK are so expensive (about £75 after tax before delivery).

The casing itself was meant to be for a low-powered, home server build based on the Atom or even an old AMD/Intel chipset and dual core rig. The stock PSU on its own is an SFX 220W Active PPFC model (not high efficincy) and I have no clue who the OEM is. That said, it would be great for these kind of motherboards if you're thinking of doing a homeserver with that! Probably all you need is a good onboard RAID or an attached SAS raid card.

Refer to first post, nothing yet. I've too many logistical issues to settle in-between (the place I'm living at now is going to go in June/July). So I do not intend to hoard stuff now and then risk them either getting obsolete, stolen or missing by the time I'm ready to use them in September.

But as for stuff that I do have at the moment, an old TRUE120 (still in the box and plastic wrapping) which is lying somewhere at home in SG. Everything else would have to be built from the ground up, which I intend to do so in July after moving out from my present accommodation.